Shay Mitchell is speaking out for the first time after facing backlash earlier this month for releasing a skin care line geared at kids 3 and up.
The “Pretty Little Liars” star opened up about the controversy her new line of products, called “Rini,” generated during an appearance on the “Today” show on Wednesday.
“I was a little surprised, but I think anything that involves kids, there should be a conversation around it,” Mitchell said during a sit-down with Jenna Bush Hager and her guest co-host Olivia Munn.
“I have a lot of questions, as I’m sure you both do, when anything involves our kids — with what they eat and what they put on their skin,” Mitchell said. “So I didn’t think this would be anything different.”
The “Pretty Little Liars” star and Beis founder said that her idea for the new line of skin care ― which consists of hydrating masks aimed at kids 3 and above ― came to her because of her own two girls: Atlas, 6, and Rome, 3.
She said that there “wasn’t anything out there I felt safe enough putting on their skin when they wanted to share in on this moment that I do.”
Mitchell also insisted that the masks are not “a beauty thing.”
“Kids don’t look at masks and think about fixing, they think about it being a cooling sensation and a shared moment.”
She also added that she doesn’t “think masks are necessary for kids.”
“I also don’t think masks are necessary for us. But are they great for added comfort and extra hydration? Yes ― and that’s all it is,” she said.
On Mitchell’s Instagram page ― where she previewed the products ― the majority of the comments remain negative.
“This seems like a new ‘Black Mirror’ episode,” one commenter wrote, name-dropping the dystopian Netflix show. “‘Skin Care for Toddlers.’ Seriously?@shaymitchell do better.”
But other parents have expressed that their children are already interested in skin care, and think it’s nice to have kid-safe products available.
“Not me cutting eye nose and mouth holes in his water wipes so he can feel included in my get fancy routine,” one parent wrote. “Need these asap.”